Out at Sea

Hi friends and neighbors! Unfortunately, my blogs will become less frequent again.

I'm back on the Jewel of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International.

Check out the news portion of my website for more information: www.taitmoline.com

Do You Like To Read?

One of my all-time favorite websites is PaperbackSwap.com. If you're a book lover, like I am, it's an unbeatable way to obtain new books to read.

The free site works like this:

1. Sign up for an account.
2. Post at least 10 books that you are willing to give away. By doing so, you are automatically awarded 1 credit to "buy" a book.
3. Search the database for a book you'd like to receive. When you find one, you "trade" your credit for the book. The system interacts with both parties to confirm the transaction.
4. The "seller/giver" mails you their book.
5. As other people request your books, you'll earn 1 credit for each book you mail that can then, in turn, be used to request other books for yourself. The more books you post, the more credits you'll earn, and the more books you'll be able to request yourself.

And that's all there is to it.

As the title suggests, you swap books with other members. The only cost to you is the postage to mail your books. But, postage is considerably cheaper than buying the book new.

What I really love about the site is all the nifty features they have.


You can set up a Wishlist of all the books you want. You then get put into a queue and when the book becomes available to you, you're notified if you want to accept the request or not.

You can even set it up so that the system will just automatically request the title. I appreciate this feature because you only have a 48 hour window to confirm if you want a book. Since I'm often without internet, this ensures I don't lose my place in line and can still receive the books I want.

I've been able to get sooo many books this way. I love it! It's a great supplement to the library system (if you use it) and a wonderful way to save on books if you happen to be a voracious reader.

Try it out. You won't be disappointed!

Am I Obsessed?

I love Roald Dahl. Love him. Did I say I love him?

I just re-read The BFG for something like the 100th time. So fun to read, everytime!

Surely you've heard of him? Mr. Dahl wrote countless classics. Of course, everyone knows Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But, did you ever read the sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator? Just as enjoyable as the first.

And then there's James and the Giant Peach. And The Witches. And Matilda.

And many, many more. He also wrote the screenplay for one of my favorite movies of all-time: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang starring the incomparable Dick Van Dyke.

Dahl's language is to die for:

Snozzcumber.
Frobscottle.
Scrumdiddlyumptious.

Come on! Does it get any better than that?!

Who cares if his most well-known works are "written for children". Sometimes adults need a good "children's book" too!

So if you've never read a Roald Dahl book, you should. Pick one up TODAY.

And might I suggest starting with ... The BFG.

Then you'll know exactly what a Whizzpopper is. (Although, trust me. You already know!)

This Too Shall Pass

Okay Go's video This Too Shall Pass from their Of the Blue Colour of the Sky album is insane.

Alright, I know there's some movie magic involved here. But still. The amount of time and effort to put this whole thing together is K-RAZY!

Ciao

Why does the theme of loss and the process of grieving seem to resonate so much with me lately? I have no idea ...

But if you've read some of my past blogs, you know that Next to Normal — the Broadway-musical-masquerading-as-a-somewhat-controversial-electroshock-therapy-show that's really a poignant look at one family's grief and how they deal with it -- is one of my all-time favorite musicals!

And then recently I watched the film, Ciao.

You probably haven't heard of it. It's an independent movie revolving around the death of a gay man and the two strangers closest to him.

I was expecting a love story, but instead found a rather moving portrait of death and the awkwardly strange roller coaster ride of emotions those left-behind experience.

I recommend it:

Simple. Slow. Touching.

And ultimately... meaningful.

It's only $4

Denny's has a new sandwich:

The Fried Cheese Melt

It looks delicious and horrendous. I love fried cheese, but this is going a little over-the-top, don'tcha think? Except that if I do find myself at a Denny's restaurant ... I might just have to try it because it looks sooooooo good. And bad.

What am I to do?

Luckily, it's only 895 calories with 34 grams of fat.

iTunes Duplicates

Love me my iTunes.

And I love the duplicate function where I can go through and delete all the songs I have multiples of, for whatever reason.

(BTW ... how does that happen???)

But my wish for Apple is to create a function where I can sort through the duplicates by genre. Do you know how many Overtures, Bows, and Finales I have in my Broadway genre? They're all specific and unique to each individual show, but the songs show up in my duplicates because of the titles. And it takes FOREVER to weed through everything to find the actual duplicates.

Are you listening Apple? I expect this request to be honored in the next iTunes update.

** UPDATE ... At some point, Apple actually listened to me! Thank you, Apple. I can now sort duplicates by genre. Whew!

More Spider-Man, The Musical

This is just more of the same. Confirmation that Spider-Man, The Musical: Turn Off the Dark looks to open this fall/winter.

Julie Taymor, the director, acknowledges the show needs to be on par with the success of The Lion King.

But will it?

Life.

It's a journey, isn't it?

Opportunities come and go.
New people weave in and out.
Jobs begin and end.

Cyclical and linear.

Strange how we move forward. Some people constantly look back. I, myself, do not tend to fall into that category. Regret can often be debilitating, so I try and limit negative hindsight, chalking up my experience to lessons learned.

Right now I'm in a period of transition in my life. A time to ponder and think about the past, the present, and the future.

But what I keep taking comfort in is the fact that when something doesn't quite pan out, the lost experience usually leads to something infinitely better than I originally imagined.

In a sense, a loss can often be a gain. It all comes down to perspective.

So, today begins a new day. Let's raise a glass to a bright future!

Spider-Man Still on Track

Rehearsals are set to begin August 16th for Spider-Man The Musical: Turn Off the Dark. Everything appears to be proceeding towards a Broadway premiere.

Now if we could just get some movement on Phantom 2: Love Never Dies. Or is the Phantom's second incarnation doomed to remain across the pond forever?

Double Rainbow - What Does It Mean?

This is all the rage. Love it!

If you haven't seen them yet, watch the first video and then the second. It'll brighten your day!

No Broadway Magic for the Phantom?

There's trouble in Coney Island.

Looks like Phantom 2: Love Never Dies is losing their creative team, and Hal Prince, Broadway's golden boy, turned down the offer to helm the mega-musical.

Without some direction, will the show ever arrive on Broadway? I've heard the productions' transatlantic crossing has been postponed indefinitely.

Darn. I wanted to see it.

Even if it is crap.

RE: Mel Gibson

I loved you and your movies, Mel, but I don't know if you can ever recover from this latest public debacle.

R.I.P.

I'm A Glow-Worm

It's true.

I'm White.
Caucasion.
Casper-looking.

I do not tan. I burn.

I've tried to tan, but it doesn't happen. I fry, the skin peels (even with nonstop moisturizing), and then I'm back to white again. I've even blistered on a cloudy day when I forgot my sunscreen.

So, please stop telling me I'd look better with a tan. Stop telling me I need color. Stop telling me to get out more. It doesn't work, and I'm fine with it. I don't need any more wrinkles than I already have, and I don't need to answer the siren call of skin cancer.

What I should do is move to the Eastern Hemisphere where pale skin is desired. Think how popular I'd be.

But until then ... please don't call me pasty.

I prefer being referred to as transluscent.

Embrace Life

New commercial out of England. Well-done and poignant, I thought, without being overdone.

So buckle up y'all, and EMBRACE LIFE!

Pass the Can, Please

Have you heard about the Candwich, the new "sandwich in a can"? Sounds gross to me. Requires no refrigeration. Long shelf-life. Ugh.

I don't really get how it works. Is it like Pillsbury Crescents? You flip the top and the can pops open?

Comes in three flavors, too: PB & Strawberry, PB & Grape, and Barbecued Chicken. Ewwwwwww ...

Maybe I'll eat it in the post-apocolyptic world that's coming. But for now, I think I'll take my fruits and vegetables for lunch, thank you very much.

With a real peanut-butter and jelly sandwich from time-to-time.

It's still on!!!

The latest report (from Ireland's Herald, no less) says that Spider-Man the Musical is still on schedule to open on Broadway this November.

What? It's still coming to Broadway? In 2010?

I'm holding my breath.

But now the question to ask is:

Which will be worse ... Spider-Man or Phantom 2?

Missed? Opportunities

You know the cliche "Everything happens for a reason"?

Well, I believe that, even if it's hard to swallow sometimes.

I was just offered an opportunity that would have been so perfect for me, but I couldn't make it happen within the confines of my schedule. So I had to let it pass me by.

I'm bummed but, at the same time, realize something better will come along.

The reality is that this opportunity could still come back around again and work within my schedule. But if it doesn't, then I shall move forward knowing that it wasn't the right thing for me.

It's just frustrating to be offered a tantalizing treat only to have it ripped away from you.

Oh, well.

Maybe I'll just go eat some dark chocolate.

And The Rockets Red Glare

To all those in the armed services serving their countries throughout the world, thank you for your sacrifice in helping to make this world a safer place to live!

And to all my fellow American patriots:

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!

Calorie Counting

When I finish my current Royal Caribbean contract, I'm going to start counting my calories.

Why, you ask? Good question, gentle blog reader.

I've always been against calorie counting. I thought it was too much hassle. Too much stress. Too much everything.

But about two years ago, I was privileged to have a personal trainer for a short time, and I loved it. If I could afford it, I'd use a personal trainer all the time.

During that time, my trainer had me doing a food log and, essentially, counting calories. And you know what? I liked it.

Yes it was a hassle. Yes it took time. But I learned a whole heck of a lot.

Besides discovering that some foods were more calorically-dense than I'd previously thought, I learned a very important lesson:

I can eat A WHOLE HECK OF A LOT of food if the food is healthy. Healthy foods tend to be low in calories while unhealthy foods are usually higher in calories (DUH!)

But I'm a hungry guy, and I like to eat a lot. So having three pieces of Pizza Hut pizza, while delicious, means I can't eat anything else the rest of the day.

Uhm, no.

I need to eat. Often.

So when I have more control of what I can eat (i.e. when I leave the ship), I'm going to count my calories. That way I know just what I'm putting into my body.

It's not something I'll do forever. It'll be more of an educational exercise to remind myself of what I should and shouldn't be eating.

Because after all, food is good! And I want more, please.